Here are two great songs that are remarkably obscure but should not be.  Listen and see if you agree.  If you do, you're with the cool kids, haha.

Hey, the Hokies had a damn good football signing day this week - ranked top 20.  We.  Are.  Back. 

Enjoy.

Rock and science generally don't mix, but I read two articles recently that blended the two.  They both came from the U.K. paper The Guardian.  The first  claims that a study has shown that listening to "extreme" music, like heavy metal, makes you calmer and less angry.  According to the article:

"A study by the University of Queensland, the Australian public research institution in Brisbane, revealed that rather than proving the hypothesis that “extreme music causes anger”, the theory that “extreme music matches and helps to process anger” was supported instead."

Should you believe this study?  Well, it did involve all of 39 people who listened to music in a laboratory.  So, yes, it's right up there with a lot of other social science studies cited by the media as proof of something or other.  In my own personal experience, which involves interaction with more than 39 people, I find that heavy metal listeners are friendly to pets and children, pay their taxes, work hard, and have 79% more tattoos than the average American.  There it is.

Here's a link to the article:

www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/22/listening-heavy-metal-punk-extreme-music-makes-you-calmer-not-angrier-study?CMP=share_btn

In another article from the Guardian, another scientific study proved that metal heads were happier.  "A new study has found 80s metalheads “were significantly happier in their youth, and better adjusted currently” than their peers, and current college students."

Duh, right?  Of course metal fans are happier - they are stoned and drunk most of the time, which explains why they buy black t-shirts with tons of writing on them and live in trailers and cars.  This study was also statistically significant because it involved 377 adults. 

Californians, you should know that most of the study's authors (yes, there was more than one, hahaha) hailed from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California.  You must be proud knowing that this is how your tax dollars are spent.  For those inquiring minds who want to know more on the science, here's a link to the tabloid that wrote about the study:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jul/08/metal-fans-turn-out-to-be-happier-than-everyone-else?CMP=share_btn_link

I like heavy metal, punk, emo, and speed metal, but have never heard Viking metal.  I also like country, western swing, rockabilly, arena rock, and jig-and-reels, among other things.  I find the variety makes me the happiest.  What about you?

In the scientific spirit of this article, here's a youtube link that I think you'll enjoy:

I hope you had fun with this.  Be happy, don't be angry, and you, too, can become the subject of a scientific study.  Until next time, keep the volume turned up and annoy the neighbors. 

YYYYYOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW!  Man, oh man, did you miss an aural assault this past Monday at Union Transfer.  Blasting out of Cleveland, Ohio, the indie band Cloud Nothings didn’t hold anything back as they tore through their repertoire.  A really good show on a cold Monday night in Philly.

Opening for CN was the band LVL Up.  Not opting for a sound that will lead to widespread commercial success, these guys were solid as hell, too.  I didn’t know their music, but enjoyed them.  A very appropriate opening act for the main event.  Here are a few photos:

Nice hats, guys.

So on to the main act.  Cloud Nothings is made up of Dylan Baldi on lead guitar and vocals, drummer Jayson Gerycz – who is my freakin’ hero - TJ Duke on bass, who simply ripped it up, and guitarist Chris Brown.  These guys hold nothing back.  There are no slow ballads here (yes!), but plenty of hooks, tunefulness and great walls of electric sound.  Punk sound, pop heart.  I dug it and the crowd was grooving, too.

The band is not crazy on stage.  In fact, there isn’t a lot of moving, talking to the audience, or even interaction among the band members.  Gerycz kicks in to the tune, and the band revs up and goes.  This guy gets a workout and a half – I’ve never seen a drummer’s hands move so fast and hard for so long – and carpal tunnel is a fear he should have.  Nonetheless, from a pure aesthetic viewpoint, the guy is great and drives the band hard. 

Do you remember the Ramones and how they performed?  It was an hour of non-stop raucous punk.  Well, CN seems to emulate that style.  There was very little break between songs, and they played about an hour and fifteen minutes.  While that might not sound like a lot of time, it was plenty given the level and intensity of physical activity ongoing from the members of the group. 

It took a while for the crowd to settle in.  But when the band ripped into “I’m Not Part of Me,” the moshing got going.  Here’s a link to the official video for that song, which is great:

After that song, the crowd was doing some heavy duty and widespread moshing – and there were some big bodies in there, too.  I’m always amazed to see the little dudes and women mixing it up in the pit, but as usual, they were there, too.  Fun is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.

Anyway, after “I’m Not Part of Me,” the band just kept amping it up with great tune after great tune.  They did take the hated break for the encore, during which the crowd chanted “part of the process.”  How great is that?  An acknowledgement that the encore is stupid, that the band isn’t really done playing, and to get their butts back on stage to finish the show.

UT is a great venue, but the lighting and pumped in dry ice smoke makes photo quality poor.  I was close (I do it for you, you know, hahaha) and still the photos are not great.  But I have them, and no one else does – at least on BRP.  So here they are and I hope you enjoy.

OK, that’s it for live reviews until later this month.  I have a couple more shows lined up which I will dutifully report on to you.  And, of course, some other tasty tidbits.  Until then, keep on rockin’.